


you know that i want to be with you all the time.

by relinquished



Category: Half-Life, Half-Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Autistic Benrey, Autistic Gordon, Fishing, M/M, Oops! All autistic., Rating M for Violence, Trans Gordon Freeman, Warnings May Change, autistic Joshua, more tags to be added.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:48:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25836004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/relinquished/pseuds/relinquished
Summary: "Confused, Gordon watched as the man walked over to a box - blue with a white lid - and opened it, rummaging around for a moment before turning back to him and holding out something. He scrunched up his nose, sniffing slightly. Was he trying to poison the poor fish? No, he thought, if he was actively trying to rid of Gordon, he wouldn’t have cleaned his wounds."also known as "Gordon gets caught on a fishing line and, well, maybe Benrey reels in more than just a Siren."title lyrics - make you mine by  public
Relationships: <-moreso background, Benrey/Gordon Freeman, Bubby/Dr. Coomer (Half-Life)
Comments: 24
Kudos: 202





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> first time writing a multichapter fic with the genuine intent of continuing, oopsie.  
> gordon and joshua are both nonverbal to varying degrees, and benrey can't express emotions well. he's trying i promise.
> 
> gordon and joshua are mahi mahis/dolphinfish, btw!
> 
> warnings for this chapter - descriptions of open wounds.
> 
> twt - bIackdogz (L is an uppercase i)  
> comments appreciated, i hope you enjoyyyy.

Gordon felt the water trail down his face as he partially breached the surface of the ocean. Pupils contracting and eyes adjusting to the glare of the surface, he focused in on the small boat that bobbed against the waves. He couldn’t spot any humans (there was probably a smaller room in the boat where they could huddle in?), but he knew they had to be around, or else the boat wouldn’t be there. Inhaling sharply through his gills, still below the water, he sunk back down, slowly making his way towards the ship. It cast a dark, looming shadow over the reef - his reef. He wanted it gone. He knew it would go, in time (they all did eventually), but he was always full of unease as the manmade objects made their stops much too close to his home for comfort.  
  
He let out a sharp breath before finally reaching the boat, dragging his blunt nails against the side. He wondered how many people were inside - a vessel like this couldn’t hold more than 5 humans, he guessed. Too small. From his short one-sided staredown he had moments before, he had seen some fishing gear, so he would have to be careful around the boat. Aggravating, but he could manage. Anyways, he wanted to see if they had any food or other items he could “collect” to bring back to his burrow. His son, Joshua, enjoyed collecting human items they found, so whenever there was a boat, Gordon had a habit of taking things that looked interesting to him.  
  
Making his way to the back, he saw that the large, black box on the back of the boat (motor, he thinks, is what some humans had called it at one point.) was off, not making that aggravating humming noise that he can feel in his bones as he hides in his burrow. Good, less dangerous, too. The spinning things, they push the boat forward like his tail, they only move when the motor is humming, so he’s as safe as he could get with being so close to the human’s vessel.  
  
He dragged his eyes away from the motor for a moment to look down at his reef, seeing fish and children alike swimming to and fro. Despite the water being clear, Gordon knew that humans always assumed that the schools that lived in the area were just fish, for some reason. As if their minds didn’t want them to believe they were more than that.  
  
Letting out a snort, he shook his head and grabbed the edge of the boat, pulling himself up as he brought his eyes back to the surface. He froze dead in his tracks as his eyes connected with another’s - a human’s. Uh oh.  
  
“...yo.”  
  
Gordon let out a loud yelp as he dropped back into the water, his tail flailing above the water for a moment as he shot himself down, trying to get back towards the reef. Keyword, trying - he felt a sharp pain in his tail, right between his lower dorsal fin and his spine. Letting out a loud cry of pain, he thrashed, trying desperately to get away from the pain. Before he could really process what was happening, Gordon felt himself being dragged back, back towards the boat - he now knew he had been caught on a hook. A large one, too, if it could reel him in. He continued to thrash, despite his pain worsening, as he felt his tail breach the surface. Hands were on him now, pulling him onto the boat and fully out of the water.  
  
He began to shake as he looked back at the human. The man wore a neutral expression as he knelt next to Gordon’s tail - his open wound - before ‘tsk’ing and adjusting the hat on his head.  
  
“damn, dude. done-done fucked yourself up. hold on.”  
  
The human stood up before disappearing down a set of bumps (stairs?) and into a room, coming back out shortly with some sort of tool and a box with a large cross on it. The siren didn’t trust it, quickly scooting back as fast as he could before accidentally tugging the hoot, burying it deeper into his flesh. He let out a loud cry as he curled in on himself, hearing the fishing pole’s line release more line. The human let out a noise and Gordon felt a hand on his tail. He flinched.  
  
“calm down. i can’t get this out if-if you keep, uh, keep on struggling.”  
  
The way this human talked, he sounded disinterested. It surprised Gordon slightly, but he tried to relax his muscles as commanded. He wanted the pain to end and to get back to his burrow. He scrunched his eyebrows and squeezed his eyes closed as he heard the man shuffle before quieting again.  
  
“gonna-gonna hurt.”  
  
Hurt was a nice way of putting it. He felt the hook twist and dig into his flesh before being ripped out - hot white flashed behind his eyelids as he let out a scream, eyes shooting open and he thrashed for a moment. Strong hands held him down as he panicked before he calmed down as much as he possibly could, his breaths coming out shallow and wheezed. There was silence again before the hands slowly released his tail.  
  
“gonna clean it now. might, uh, might hurt too, i think. not as bad as before,” the man spoke with a mumble, a slight twang. Gordon couldn’t pin down the accent as he spoke, “jus’ a sting.”  
  
The siren was light-headed as he heard the man open something - the box, he had to guess. He stared at the white wall of the boat, hissing as something stung against his wound, but not struggling as much as before. He felt tired, and he didn’t know if it was due to blood loss or the adrenaline leaving his system, but he knew he just wanted to get back to his burrow, to Joshua.  
  
There was the noise of tearing before he felt his tail being lifted and something being wrapped around it. Confused, he looked down, watching the man wrap… something brownish around him. It hid the large gash he caught a glimpse of well. He had to wonder how large the hook was, how strong it and the wielder had been to have been able to pull him up without much of a struggle on their end. He watched as hands - practiced hands, he noted - clipped closed the bandages on his tail.  
  
Letting out a grunt, the human - which, to be honest, now that he got a better look at the man, Gordon couldn’t tell if that was true. Humans didn’t come in grey (blue? He didn’t know.) from what he remembered, and those teeth… They reminded him of one of his neighbor’s, not a human’s. - stood back up, patting his hands against his pants as he looked down at Gordon from under the brim of his hat. He clicked his teeth together as he walked over to Gordon, and before the siren could protest, lifted him up and onto a plush… seat.  
  
Confused, Gordon watched as the man walked over to a box - blue with a white lid - and opened it, rummaging around for a moment before turning back to him and holding out something. He scrunched up his nose, sniffing slightly. Was he trying to poison the poor fish? No, he thought, if he was actively trying to rid of Gordon, he wouldn’t have cleaned his wounds.  
  
Still, he didn’t trust it.  
  
“it’s, uh… ‘s a sandwich. ‘s tuna. do you eat tuna?”  
  
Gordon had hunted for tuna before. They weren’t his favorite, but… His stomach growled. He was betting on stealing some of the food from this human, so… He hesitantly took it and went to bite into it before he heard a bunch of noises come from the human. The sandwich was quickly grabbed from his hands and he watched as a clear film was peeled away from it. Oh, it had a covering. Inedible, from what he guessed.  
  
He took the food back when offered and bit into it. His eyes widened - he had never tasted tuna like this before. It was so strange, the texture was different and the taste was-  
  
“What the fuck, this is good?”  
  
He spoke before he meant to, covering his mouth as he chewed slowly, eyes snapping up to the person in front of him. He didn’t seem to mind the outburst, barely glancing up from fixing the line on his pole. Ah, so he was going to continue fishing here?  
  
“gonna, uh, move locations. ‘d rather not hurt another, uh… what do you call yourselves?” He looked up from what his hands were doing, right at Gordon. The siren swallowed what he was chewing and looked away, out into the water.  
  
“Depends on the school. Humans call us sirens or merpeople though, so just… use one of those, I guess.” He shrugged as he finished his sandwich. That earned a hum, and they were back to silence. Gordon’s pupils retracted into slits as he looked around the surface. Watching the sun slowly inch across the sky. It was getting late, he needed to get back. He looked around before wiggling off the seat, flopping directly onto the floor with an ‘oof’.  
  
The human made a noise before helping Gordon back up onto the seat. There was no expression on his face, but if Gordon had to throw out a guess, he’d wager that he was confused.  
  
“I, uh. Need to get back to my school. My son is probably getting home.”  
  
The man’s mouth was placed in a thin line before he nodded, placing one arm underneath Gordon’s tail and the other beneath his arms, before lifting him with ease and walking to the back of the boat. Gently, the siren was placed in the water, and he noticed the human was avoiding touching the bandages on his tail.  
  
“i don’t know how well the-the, uh, the bandages will… hold,” Gordon felt himself sink lower into the water as the fisherman’s hold on him released, “so if it, uh, if it starts coming off, just. i dunno. get rid of it.” He rolled his shoulders and looked down at Gordon, who simply nodded.  
  
He didn’t know what to say, so he simply spit out a quick ‘thank you’ before diving back down, heading towards his burrow. His vision cleared up the longer he was in the water, finally able to see correctly. He watched as schools of fish and sirens like swam by, making their ways to and from wherever they needed to go. The ocean dimmed as the sun set, and nocturnal species made their ways out of their burrows, while diurnal species made their ways back to their homes.  
  
Gordon hummed as he dove down between some rocks and into a large alcove - his burrow. He let out a small sigh of relief as he saw his son moving some things (new things, Gordon noted, things he had probably collected while out with friends that day.) around and reorganizing. Swimming up behind him, he hummed, looking at the items the boy had collected. Some cans, a hook, an old… he didn’t know what it was, honestly. Metal, he was sure. Rusted, definitely.  
  
Joshua looked back at his father with a gappy smile, raising an item he had found. It was sharp, he knew humans called them knives - he gently took it from his son and ruffled his hair, placing it up onto a higher shelf so he couldn’t reach it without making a lot of commotion.  
  
“Did you have a good time with the neighbors today?” Gordon looked back down at his son, gently placing his hand on top of the boy’s head. He received an eager nod as his son motioned towards all of the things he collected. He let out small chirps and noises of his own, smiling wide as he showed off his new collection.  
  
Joshy hadn’t really spoken in his 8 years of life, but that didn’t really bother Gordon. He himself didn’t speak much unless he had to, so the two communicated in their own ways. It worked out well, so he never tried to pressure the boy into doing anything he didn’t want to.  
  
Gently patting his son’s back, the boy looked back up at him and he nodded his head in the direction of a tunnel that lead to what his son has deemed as his own burrow. The boy pouted but nodded, swimming down the hall with his father close behind. It was late for Joshua - he slept early, woke up early. The boy had a lot of energy, much to Gordon’s dismay, but he was definitely manageable, so there was nary a complaint to be heard from Gordon. Humming as they entered his son’s burrow, he watched as the boy quickly swam over a large, spongey piece of coral he loved to sleep on.  
  
Gordon smiled softly as he watched his son hunker down on the item, swimming over and pressing a kiss to his forehead before he swam over to where the room’s light was (they had collected some items earlier in Joshua’s life, which Gordon had figured out were powered by solar energy. Neat.) and clicked the button that turned it off.  
  
“Night, Joshy.”   
  
Gordon heard a small chirp from the room as he made his way back towards the main alcove of their home, feeling himself wind down once again, exhaustion taking over his core. It had been a long day, even if it was only a few hours, and he needed rest. He let out a yawn before nearly jumping out of his skin as he felt something brush up against one of his fins. His head snapping down, he saw the bandage coming undone, unraveling itself from being full of water. The human had mentioned this might happen, so he bent down and quietly untied it, watching his healing wound reveal itself slowly. It was… large. He wasn’t sure how he had gotten himself stuck on the hook so quickly, so brazenly, but his panicking didn’t help the situation. He most likely made it worse with how bad he struggled. He knew it’d scar.  
  
Looking down at the now unraveled bandages in his hands, he frowned slightly, rolling it around. He didn’t know what to do with it - he couldn’t leave it floating around in the ocean. Some poor sap would probably try and eat it, but he didn’t necessarily want to keep it here, either. He let out a huff. He could possibly, maybe, give it back to the human who had helped him, if he saw him again. It wouldn’t be too hard, he thought, seeing him again wouldn’t be awful if he had more of those sandwiches. Maybe he could get one for Joshua? Maybe.  
  
Swimming over to his own corner of the alcove, he placed the bandages next to some of his other items, before weighing it down with a rock. He’d keep it there until the next time they met. Yeah. Rolling his shoulder and popping his knuckles, he swam down a different tunnel than before, making his way to his own section of the burrow. He needed sleep, needed to let his body rest for once. Entering the room, he looked around for a moment, before deciding to ignore any cleaning he had to do in there for now. Rest. He needed rest.  
  
Slowly, he went over to his own coral, heaving himself onto it and curling up. His tail throbbed. Sleeping would be harder than he thought, he realized, as he adjusted his position. He sighed heavily, bubbles almost pouring from his gills, as he braced himself for a long night. 


	2. Chapter 2

It had been nearly a week since Gordon had seen the new human, a week of leaving the burrow with the bandage tucked neatly under his arm as he swam to the surface and waiting patiently for a while, before beginning his day. He knew he had to give it back to the man, what else would he do with it? Litter? No. He wanted to keep his home clean, if not for the safety of the animals that he cohabited the area with, but the children of the local schools as well.  
  
Today’s routine was the same as the days before - wake up, get Joshua ready for his day and send him off on his own to explore a little further than the day before, get himself ready with the bandage and some small fish he had stored away for a quick morning meal, and head out. As he made his way to the surface, the sun was high in the sky, and a shadow loomed over the reef - the human’s boat had returned. The fin on Gordon’s back stood up straighter as he shot up to the surface, tail sending ripples of bubbles down as air was pushed past his body.   
  
There were no hooks in the water this time, Gordon realized as he approached, so he didn’t have to worry about another injury. He slowed to a stop at the back of the vessel, head barely breaching the surface as his eyes searched for a sign of the human. His focus trained on a hunched over form - they were doing something, a slight rattling noise coming from near them. Setting up a lure, maybe? Gordon didn’t really know how human fishing worked, but he hoped it wasn’t anything with hooks this time.   
  
Lifting his hands out of the water, he gently placed the bandage on the edge of the boat before using his strength to heave himself up, letting out a few noises of struggle. His body wasn’t made for being above the water, much less moving around with more gravity, so he felt his muscles strain slightly against the movements. Eyes still on the human, he watched as he looked back, eyes slightly wider than he remembers seeing, before standing up and walking over to Gordon. He didn’t say anything as they looked at each other for a moment before he bent over and lifted him onto the boat.   
  
“you’re, uh, back?”   
  
Slight confusion slipped into the human’s voice, Gordon noticed, so he lifted the bandages from before. The human stared at them.   
  
“wh… huh.”   
  
Gordon deadpanned. He didn’t want to speak, didn’t like to speak, it made him uncomfortable, and he’d rather not if he didn’t have to, or if he didn’t trust the person. So he waved it again, making a chirping noise.   
  
“why do you, uh… why do you still have that,” The human rolled his shoulders, popped his knuckles, “i, uh, said you could get-get rid of it.”   
  
Where was he supposed to get rid of it, Gordon thought, he lived in the middle of the damn ocean. He grit his teeth and waved it around again, trying to get his point across. Take it, he thought, take it before I throw it in your face!   
  
The man took the hint and grabbed the wet bandages, muttering under his breath as he walked back towards the small room Gordon had seen when he was on board. He disappeared and came back empty-handed, crouching in front of Gordon and making eye contact. Gordon tried to hold it, he did, but it sent chills up his spine and make him nervous, so he looked away, looked at anything he could find that wasn’t the Human’s face. He jumped when he heard the man speak.   
  
“so, uh, you got a name,” The human tilted his head, “fuckin’ - um - fish man?”   
  
Gordon bristled and snapped his gaze back at him, a scowl barely present on his face. Fish man? What a lazy attempt at, what Gordon assumed, a jab at his expense. Puffing out his cheeks and adjusting his position on the floor of the boat, he looked at the other. His name?   
  
“Gordon.” He spat out, closing his mouth tight and dragging his tongue across his teeth, looking away. No last name, not a name he wanted to share. Just Gordon, as far as the human was concerned. The man hummed and stood up straight, going back to what he was doing before Gordon had caught his attention. Dragging his eyes back to where he was hunched over, Gordon realized it was a small cage, and he was feeding bait into it. What was it used for, he wondered. It wasn’t big enough to hold a large fish (which - isn’t that what humans came out this far for? To catch large fish to bring back to their schools?), but it was obviously made to catch something. Shellfish, perhaps? Crabs, lobsters… He was getting hungry.   
  
“benrey,” The human spoke, not looking away from the trap he was messing with, startling Gordon out of his thoughts, “i, uh, fish- i do fishin’ shit for a livin’.” He looked over his shoulder at Gordon. “you’re the first, uh, mer… merperson i’ve caught, though.” He stood back up, cage in hand, and walked over to Gordon, stopping next to him and tossing the cage into the ocean. Gordon watched its form disappear into the deeps, disappearing into a sea of blues.   
  
“i don’t- i don’t wanna use hooks here, uh, at least, not anymore,” Benrey rubbed a hand against the back of his neck, “shit, uh, shit tore you up. oops.”   
  
Was that his apology? For leaving Gordon with a new scar? Humans, he thought, humans have weird ways of communicating. The siren shrugged and looked back at Benrey, who was currently in the process of making sure the buoy attached to the crab trap would hold. Gordon’s eyes locked onto the orange and white ball, watching it bob up and down in time with the waves. It never dipped too low into the water, always keeping itself afloat somehow. It was an interesting device to Gordon, but he doubted he could get away with taking it and not upsetting Benrey. He’d rather have the human around so he had easy access to food and items he’d want to take for himself. Speaking of which…   
  
Gordon adjusted himself before using his arms to pull himself further into the boat. He wanted to explore, to see if there was anything that wasn’t bolted down and wasn’t important enough to warrant leaving it. Benrey made a noise (Gordon couldn’t figure out what it meant.) and scrambled up, rocking the boat with his movements. The siren paid no mind, beelining to the box he saw the human pull the… sandwich(?) out of last week and pulling it open. He saw cans of drinks and more sandwiches - good. He pulled out two of each, going to stick them under his arm before they were pulled out of his grasp. He let out an aggravated noise, looking up at Benrey. The man wore a neutral expression, giving off no hints of what he was feeling.   
  
“dude,” He tucked the items back into the box, closing the lid and pressing his hand down on it to keep it closed, “you, uh, you like, you want food, you gotta ask- be nice and shit.” He smacked his lips together and stood up straight, popping his knuckles for the second time that hour, and looked down at Gordon. “i, uh, i get you don’t talk a lot - at least i’m assumin’, but- like - i dunno, point? or somethin’.”   
  
Gordon let out a huff, and did just that - pointed at the box, looking him in the eye for a moment before needing to look away again. “Food,” He spoke, his voice aggravated. He just wanted something to bring back for Joshy to have, and he decided food would be best. So he pointed again, clicking his teeth. Benrey hummed and moved his hand, giving Gordon the opportunity to grab what he had before and scoot back to the edge of the boat.   
  
He sat there for a moment before spotting yet another box (What was with this human and his boxes?) and scooting towards it. He placed the food items down before quickly opening the box before Benrey could stop him. Immediately, he understood why the box seemed much sturdier than the other - it was full of hooks and lures. He let out a small gasp and reached in, pulling out a few shiny lures - one was shaped like a minnow, but it had hooks on the bottom. He needed to get those off. He looked back and noticed Benrey watching him from a seat, a book in one hand and a can in the other.   
  
“Hooks.”   
  
Benrey quirked an eyebrow.   
  
“Take them off?”   
  
He placed his book down on the seat and clapped his hands on his knees, standing up as he walked over to Gordon, plucking the fish-like item from his hand. He shook it around gently, causing a small jingle to ring through the air. The siren liked that noise - his pupils widened.   
  
“these things, uh. ‘spensive. you, uh, you gonna pay for it? with fuckin’ seaweed or somethin’?”   
  
Pay? What in the hell was paying, what did “‘spensive” mean? Gordon frowned and shook his head.   
  
“Want it. For my son.”   
  
Benrey grunted and sighed, bending down and grabbing a tool - the same tool which he had used to pull the hook from Gordon’s tail the previous time they met - from the box. He quickly ripped the hook on the lure and tugged, bending the thin wire and yanking it off of the item. He held it out for Gordon, who took it from him gently.   
  
“there, no more, uh. sharp shit.” His words came out in a mumble and he turned back around, going back to where he was reading. Gordon watched him go before turning back to the ocean, grabbing the items he was going to take with him and scooting back to the edge of the boat. His tail dipped into the water, sending small shivers up Gordon’s spine. The surface was much warmer than his home, his body wasn’t used to the difference. Clicking his teeth together to make a rather unique sound, he looked back at the human and made a noise deep in this throat, gills on his neck opening and closing. “Thanks.”   
  
Without another word, he held the items close to himself and slipped back underwater, watching his vision return to normal. He didn’t understand why his vision went to shit when he was above water, but he had to assume it had to do with some sort of biology about himself he didn’t quite understand. Rolling his shoulders, he adjusted himself to swim better before making his way back to his burrow.   
  
The trip back was different than the last time they had seen each other; certain fish and sirens often ended their yearly migrations in the reef. Summer was a strange time of year, especially for Gordon and Joshua - new faces to learn, new names, new personalities. It was a struggle that he had grown used to over the years.   
  
Speaking of new faces - Gordon, already nearly back at his burrow stopped and stared at the back of an unfamiliar neighbor. A pair of new sirens, most likely trying to figure out a new migration spot, were talking outside the entrance to his alcove. It sent him mildly on edge, but he kept his mouth shut as he began moving.   
  
“‘Scuse me.” He tried to brush past them, wriggling his way between them and the rocks, but the one with his back towards him was too big. They turned, and let out a small “oh!” before scooting back. Gordon held his items closer as he looked up - Jesus, this man was wide. The new person had a kind smile on their face, mustache lifted, and crinkles framing the corner of their eyes as they looked at him. A more angular face peered at him over the other’s shoulder, large… what were those called again? Goggles? Yeah, large goggles over their eyes as they looked at him. Their gaze was sharper, colder. It sent a shiver down his spine.   
  
The larger one held out his hand and Gordon nervously took it, feeling the callouses scrape against his own. He felt his body shake slightly as he shook the other’s hand before quickly taking his own back and holding it against his chest. He scraped his blunt nails against his chest, burying his teeth into his bottom lip to rid of the awful texture - it felt burned into his hand. The whale siren spoke.   
  
“Hello, Sir! My name is Harold Coomer, and this,” He turned himself slightly to motion towards his companion, “is Bubby! May I have the pleasure of knowing yours?” His voice was cheery, a stark contrast to the man behind him, who wore a scowl. The other (Bubby? No way was that his name.) murmured under his breath as Gordon spoke.   
  
“Uh, Gordon... Freeman.” He sounded unsure, and he cringed internally, looking away from the other man. He probably looked suspicious - he was holding human items and fidgeting often - but Mr. Coomer didn’t comment on it, simply smiling and nodding.   
  
“Well, Hello, Gordon! My husband and I are here for the summer months to get away from our home, it’s very warm here, we love it!” He spoke with a constant smile, his lips upturned and his eyes glistening. Gordon relaxed a little, letting the tension slip from his shoulders as he loosened his grip on his items slightly. Just slightly. While Mr. Coomer didn’t make him feel threatened, Bubby’s harsher demeanor sent alarm bells ringing in his head, and he genuinely just wanted to get home to Joshua. If his son wasn’t home already, he would be soon, and he wanted to give him the things he brought.   
  
“Nice to meet you,” Gordon nodded as he spoke, preparing to leave, “Uh, I have to go. Enjoy the neighborhood.” He tried to smile to them both, giving a small wave, before diving down below the large rocks that made up the entrance to his burrow. He felt as if his social battery was critically low and he needed to charge, to have some time to himself, and soon.   
  
Entering the burrow, he noticed Joshy wasn’t home yet. Not uncommon, he was a little early. He swam over to Joshua’s shelves and placed the minnow lure on a lower one, smiling to himself as he adjusted its position on the shelf. He was proud of himself for being able to communicate with the human well enough to have gained some new items for Joshua to enjoy.   
  
While brushing off a bit of sand from the shelf, he heard a small chirp and turned his head, seeing Joshua make his way into the Burrow. His hands were empty today - he must not have found anything worthwhile when exploring - and he looked a bit tired. Gordon turned fully and opened his arms, letting his son swim up into them and holding him close to his chest.   
  
“Hey there, little man,” He smiled and received a chirp in response, “Have a good day?” Joshua nodded, moving his hands around lazily. “Good - hey, I got you some things, wanna see em?” His son perked up, the fins on his ears perking up at the mention of new items, and nodded rapidly. Gordon hummed and looked up. Above the main section of their Burrow, there was a large pocket of air and shelves of rock that were dry enough for them to sit on and enjoy their meals.

  
“Well,” Gordon looked down at the boy in his arms, “We gotta go up to the special room, that okay?” Joshua nodded, and he smiled, holding him close as he swam upwards and breached the surface. Gently, Gordon lifted him out of the water and set him down on a rock. “I’ll be right back, okay?”

  
After receiving a nod, Gordon swam back down and pulled the items he got from Benrey off of the shelf. He swam back up and listed the items out of the water first before breaching the surface himself, and he watched Joshy’s eyes widen. The boy reached out, grabbing the air in front of him. Gordon laughed softly, and almost handed the sandwich to him, before remembering what Benrey had done. He held up a hand and pulled back the wrapper of the sandwich before placing it in Joshua’s hands.   
  
“It’s food,” He moved to sit next to the boy, “A human gave it to me.”   
  
Joshua’s eyes widened, fear glinting in them, and Gordon shook his head and ruffled his hair. “A… friendly human. I promise. I had one before, It’s good.” Hesitantly, Joshua brought the sandwich up to his mouth, taking one small bite… and then another. One more. More and more, one right after the other, and Gordon laughed before gently taking his arm in his hand. “Calm down, buddy. Don’t choke.”   
  
Joshua slowed down a little, finishing off his sandwich before letting out a symphony of clicks and chirps, gently tapping his hands against his chest repeatedly. Gordon gave a soft smile and grabbed the can, popping the top open and handing it to his son. “Slowly, okay?”   
  
Joshy nodded and took it in both hands, gently sipping it. Gordon watched his eyes widen before he suddenly began sucking down the drink, completely ignoring his father’s previous request. Gordon winced as he realized he had finished the drink before he could stop him, and watched him flap his arms and hands up and down, clicking his teeth and chirping louder than he had before.   
  
“Wow, you liked-” Another loud chirp, “You liked that? I’ll try and get more, okay?” Joshua nodded, swinging his tail up and down rapidly. At this point, Gordon was mildly concerned that he’d hurt himself, so he gently picked him back up and placed him in the water.   
  
“Swim out that energy bud, okay- Wait, hold on.” Gordon patted around him before finding what he needed, picking up the lure and holding it out to Joshua, “A toy for you! Play with this, okay?” Joshy’s eyes sparkled and he nodded, diving down into the water and back into the alcove, leaving Gordon up above by himself.   
  
Quietly, he grabbed his drink and sandwich, unwrapping and opening them for himself. As he ate, he didn’t think much, mostly watched Joshua from above as he played in the room below. Gordon smiled and lifted the can to his mouth for a sip of his (nearly sickeningly sweet) drink. He was happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> notes! 
> 
> coomer is a pygmy sperm whale, bubby is a blacknose shark!  
> gordon is SEMI-verbal and will only speak a Lot to those he trusts, like joshua  
> joshy is nonverbal and stims a lot physically  
> more notes to be added later prolly, oops!
> 
> art -
> 
> mine:  
> https://twitter.com/bIackdogz/status/1293084589884428288 (warning for gordon titty... bras don't exist in the ocean...)  
> https://twitter.com/bIackdogz/status/1293383087242579968


End file.
